Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the possible therapeutic effects and active components of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) on a high fat diet-induced NASH rat model. We induced NASH in a rat model by voluntary oral feeding with a high-fat diet ad libitum for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks, 1 mg/kg LBP was orally administered for another 4 weeks with a high-fat diet. When compared with NASH rats treated for 12 weeks, therapeutic LBP treatment for 4 weeks during 12 weeks of NASH induction showed ameliorative effects on: (1) increased body and wet liver weights; (2) insulin resistance and glucose metabolic dysfunction; (3) elevated level of serum aminotransferases; (4) fat accumulation in the liver and increased serum free fatty acid (FFA) level; (5) hepatic fibrosis; (6) hepatic oxidative stress; (7) hepatic inflammatory response; and (8) hepatic apoptosis. These improvements were partially through the modulation of transcription factor NF-κB, MAPK pathways and the autophagic process. In a palmitate acid-induced rat hepatocyte steatosis cell-based model, we also demonstrated that l-arabinose and β-carotene partially accounted for the beneficial effects of LBP on the hepatocytes. In conclusion, LBP possesses a variety of hepato-protective properties which make it a potent supplementary therapeutic agent against NASH in future clinical trials.